A homeowner was shocked to realize her property had been rented out without her knowledge for Christmas after strangers knocked on her door.
New Zealander Carla Beazley was even more stunned to learn that the fake ad on Booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000.
The elderly woman had been duped after scammers copied Ms Beazley’s photos and details of her Mt Maunganui property from a real listing without her knowledge.
The woman wanted to rent a house near her own home so that her visiting relatives could stay near her during Christmas.
Ms Beazley had to tell the shocked family members that their booking was not legitimate and that she was not part of the scam. New Zealand Herald reported.
Although they had suffered a huge financial loss in the scam, the family was understanding, but Beazley fears others who are being duped will not take it so kindly.
“This is a security issue because someone just showed up at our door,” he said.
Booking.com said in a statement that it takes security issues very seriously and is investigating fake property listings.
Carla Beazley (pictured) was shocked to learn that a fake listing for her property on booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000.
When the woman, a family aunt who showed up at Ms Beazley’s door, made what she thought was a legitimate booking, she was instructed to make a private payment from the Booking.com site.
While this may have raised alarm bells for some savvy internet users who are wary of potential scams, many people would take those instructions as part of the process.
It was the second time Ms Beazley had been contacted by people who had been misled by the false property listing.
When she first heard about the scam on Nov. 20, she called Booking.com to have the fake ad removed.
But he said despite spending hours on the phone with representatives from the property rental site, the fraudulent listing was still online, leading to the family losing $10,000.
A spokesperson for Booking.com said it takes “safety and security very seriously and has a range of measures in place to verify properties before they start welcoming guests”.
These measures include “checks carried out by our security teams, local partner services and customer support.”
The spokesperson said that if a property is reported as suspicious, the listing will not be able to accept reservations while it is investigated.
Mark Gray also discovered a fake listing of his property (pictured) on booking.com
Booking.com eventually took action to remove the fake listing (pictured) for Mr Gray’s home.
“If a breach of our terms and conditions is discovered, the listing is removed,” he said.
The “listing of fake properties by professional cybercriminals is a challenge for the travel sector” and the company is investing heavily to address it, the spokesperson said.
“We are sorry for the experiences these owners have brought to our attention and have urgently addressed each of their individual concerns.”
Mark Gray, another New Zealand-based homeowner, also discovered a fake listing for his home on Booking.com.
Gray said he spent hours on the phone trying to remove the fake listing more than two months ago, without success, but it was ultimately not removed until the New Zealand Herald contacted Booking.com about his situation.
Only after that did a notice appear at the top of the fraudulent listing for their Martinborough property, saying: “We regret that this property is not accepting bookings on our site at this time.”
Beazley and Gray claim that Booking.com did not ask for sufficient proof that a person owns the house they are advertising, but simply asked them to check a box saying they are the owner.
Ms Beazley’s fraudulent property listing has now been removed, but she believes it was her own investigation, and not booking.com, that caused it to be removed.
He contacted a person through the email address on the fake listing for his home, posing as a potential tenant.
They asked him to deposit the money into a UK bank account, after which he asked for a copy of a passport photo page so he could verify he was speaking to a real person.
Beazley then used that person’s name and sent an email posing as a law enforcement officer, threatening to report the person to Interpol if the list was not removed.
“It obviously scared them because he was gone the next morning,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Beazley and Booking.com for further comment.